Game apparatus.



W. E. SUOFIELD. GAME APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. s, 1913.

1,098,846 Patented June 2, 1914.

HOME RUN T THIRD BASE HIT wa 8858 0760M INI/ENYTOH 0 f W By )MIQZQ A TTOHNEVS WALTER EDWARDS SCOFIELD, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

GAME APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2, 1914.

Application filed December 8, 1913. Serial No. 805,203.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WALTER EDWARDS ScorInLo, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Game Apparatus, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to improvements in game apparatus, and has particular relation to an apparatus for playing symbolically the game of baseball in the home, strictly according to the rules of the real game on the baseball field.

The objects of my invention are: 1st. To provide simple means whereby the players of both sides may sit at the designed board facing each other, the operations of each side controlling the actions of the other. 2nd. To provide means for playing baseball in the home strictly according to the rules of the actual game on the field. 3rd. To provide improved means for scoring the result of the game step by step.

Other objects will appear from the hereinafter description.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of my specification, Figure l. represents my game board oi? wood or other suitable material, and of convenient size, say three feet one way, by two and one-half the other. Fig. 2 represents the disks, representing men, of which there may be eighteen, nine of one color and nine of another color, rerncsenting the rival. players of two leagues or two nines, the diametrical lines in the disks W to W showing conventionally that the disks are of the second color.

The game board, which may be provided with legs of its own, not shown, or may be laid flat and level on an ordinary table of about the same size, is divided into two sections, X and Y, and these letters designate also the positions taken by the opposing players.

X is the field, and Y is the pitchers sec tion. In the held, a baseball diamond Z is laid oil, having bases, A, B, C and D, and a players space (Z at the home-plate.

E is the position of the pitcher, and the position of the seven other infielders and outfielders are designated by the letters F, G,

H, I, J, K and L, the catcher not being represented. These positions are marked on the game board by pins, preferably surrounded by a cork or rubber sleeve shown by an outer circle, and act as hazards to the shooting of the disks down the board as hereinafter described.

Beyond the diamond are four lines, M, N, O and P, which mark off zones on the board, designated respectively firstbase hits, second-base hits, third-base hits, and home-run hits; and on these lines are located the 0b stacles m, a, 0 and 7), with spaces between the obstacles 011 each line, through which the disk supposed to be shot by the batter may pass if properly directed. These obstacles are narrow strips of wood or other material, of various lengths, and fastened to the board so as to stand upright on one edge, and the arrangement of obstacles and interspaces is preferably as shown in the drawing, Fig. 1.

The bases A, B and C are marked by bare pins, without any sleeve of rubber, upon which may be held the players disks hereinafter described, each of which has a central hole slightly larger than the pin on which the disk loosely fits.

Q, is a division. wall of wood or other suitable material, firmly secured to the board. on one edge; and Q, Q, and Q are l'ioundary walls, oi. the same material, to keep the disks on the board.

It and R are two blocks narrowing one end of the pitchers space, in order that it may not be too easy for the pitcher located at Y to shoot the disk into the space T with out hitting the backstop S.

T is a strike space, and t is a line marking oft" the strike space from the ball space.

U is the ball space, marked oil on one side by the line a.

V, V V, V V V V V V are disks all of one color, representing the nine play ers of one team, and TV, TV, W W, W, TV, Vi TV are disks of another color representing the players of the opposing team.

The counters for runs and other counters for outs, and still others for innings, may be arranged on any convenient place on the board; but I have represented them in the drawings as located on the division walls at Q", RF, and Q, and they comprise strips of metal fastened to the walls containing the appropriate number of holes with pins to indicate the state of the score.

I will now describe the game as conducted with my improved apparatus.

Two to eighteen persons can play, with or without an umpire, who may be one of the players, nine or less players may compose one team, equal numbers being arranged on each side, distributing the disks according to the number of players, one disk to each player. when there are fewer players than there are disks on the side, in which case every player has at least one disk, and some players may have more than one, in which event such player plays as many times as he has disks. If there are four players in a game, two on each side, one player would have four disks, and the other five on each side. The pitcher on the pitchers alley, by his play in the runway decides whether the batter on the opposite side is struck out or receives first base on balls, or is permitted to shoot the disk, which represents a hit. To strike a player out, the pitcher must shoot his disk so that it stops three times in the strike space T without striking the backstop S. A base on balls means that the pitchers disk stops in the space marked U four times before three strikes or a hit is recorded. This gives the player at the bat first base, in which case he does not get an opportunity to shoot, but places his disk on first base. A hit is determined by the pitchers disk entering the space T and hitting the back stop S, this permits the player whose turn it is to bat to shoot from the players space (Z. The outs are represented by a player sitting at Y with disk IV in his possession which is placed in the runway near the player, who with. thumb and finger snaps it down the runway in the attempt to enter it in the space T, but not to hit the backstop S. If it passes through the space T and hits the backstop S it is a hit for the other side, and the player sitting at X has then his chance'to play. If the player sitting at Y shoots the disk so as to fall short of space T, stopping anywhere in the space U, it is a ball, and four balls give the player on the opposite side sitting at X first base. In this case the player at the bat places the disk V on peg A'at first base. The next player sitting at Y, representing the outs, then takes his disk W? and snaps it down the runway, and if this time it enters the space T and hits the backstop S, the next opposing player sitting at X has an opportunity to play, and places his disk V in the players space (Z and snaps it down the board, attempting to get to the farthest zone marked Home run, or failing n' a to g a fa down he o -rd as p ssible. If his disk reaches the zone marked Home run, he will bring in the first batter on first base as well as count one run for himself, and the score will be marked two runs accordingly. The next player sitting at Y resumes, taking the disk Y he shoots down the runway and assuming that he succeeds in placing it in space T three times without striking backstop S, or giving opposing player a base on balls, the opposing player at the bat is out. Batter holding disk V having been struck out by the pitcher on the opposing side, does not have an opportunity to play and his disk will be placed with the batters who have already played. The next player sitting at Y resumes and places his disk on the board and shoots down the runway. IVe will assume that the disk enters space T and strikes backstop S, in which case the next opposing player at X holding disk V is permitted. to shoot from players space (Z. Should he fail to place his disk beyond line M he is counted out. whether he hits any of the obstacles E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and L or not, but these obstacles render it difiicult for him to shoot the disk into any of the zones where a score is made. After three outs have been recorded against the batting side, either by being struck out by the pitcher on the opposing side, or failing to pass line M, the teams change positions. This terminates the first half of the first inning. After nine full innings have been recorded the team having made the most runs wins the game. The other players and their plays need not be especially described, except to say that should the disk of a previous player on the batting side be on any one of the bases, such disk is advanced to the base ahead of the position reached by the next player. For example, should the disk of the preceding player he on first base, a third base hit would bring the preceding player to the home-plate, scoring one run, and place the latter player on third base.

Many changes in construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and the pitchers runway in its location and in its construction may be put in another place on the board, or may be on a separate board, and the blocks B may be omitted or diiferently shaped. The spacing of the runway may be different, and so may the obstacles on the lines M, N, O and P; and the pegs and sleeves representing the players may be different; and still other variations may be made which are mere mechanical equivalents.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 71.. Ina game apparatus, a game board, a diamond and bases, Obstacles which mark elf zones, a runway in which the shots of an 0pgame board, and counters for the stages of 10 poslng player determlne the operations of the game. A the batters, and disks adapted to be shot on In w1tness whereof I have hereunto set the game board. my hand at the city, county and State of 2. In a game apparatus, a game board, a New York, this 2nd day of December, 1913.

diamond and bases, obstacles which mark ofi' WALTER EDWARDS SOOFIELD.

zones, a runway in which the shots of an opi In presence 0t posing player determine the operations of ISABEL R. RICHARDS,

the batters, disks adapted to be shot on the FRANK EUFEMIA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent,

Washington, D. G. 

